Delete an IOTA Identity
There are two approaches to delete an IOTA Identity, with different implications:
Deactivate
As detailed in the IOTA DID Method Specification, a controller of an IOTA Identity may deactivate it by executing an update that either:
- deletes the contents of the DID Document entirely, leaving the state metadata empty, OR
- sets the
deactivated
field in the DID Document metadata totrue
.
In both cases, the DID Document will be marked as deactivated
when resolved.
The identity can be reactivated at any time, by publishing an update restoring the DID Document's contents,
or unsetting the deactivated
field in the metadata respectively, depending on how it was initially deactivated.
Example
The following example demonstrates deactivating and reactivating an IOTA DID Document.
- Rust
loading...
Destroy
Alternatively, you can destroy an IOTA Identity permanently.
Destroying an IOTA Identity is permanent and irreversible.
This may be achieved by a DID controller by executing the Identity::execute_delete
API.
Any coins and tokens owned by the destroyed Identity
are reclaimed and must be sent to another address.
Note that historical versions may still be stored off-ledger, or on a permanode, so sensitive or Personal Identifiable Information (PII) should NEVER be stored in a DID Document.
Even with a previous version available, a destroyed DID can never be restored.